Eagles' New Edge Rusher Pleased To Be 'With A Storied Franchise'
Jaelan Phillips landed at Philadelphia International Airport, and probably before he even had his first cheesesteak, he was greeted by the ubiquitous John Clark of NBCS Philadelphia. The Eagles finalized a trade to bring Phillips to Philly from the Miami Dolphins on Monday morning. Hours later, he arrived.
"I mean, it's incredible, you know, it's like, I had no idea this was going to happen, but, I mean, there's literally no other team I'd rather play for,” he told Clark. “You know, obviously, Philly is a storied franchise, great tradition here, incredible team. So, I'm just excited to get in, get to work with the guys, man, I'm super excited. It's gonna be awesome.”
Clark has a knack for being the first on the scene when a heralded player makes his first appearance in his new city. And Phillips is a heralded player, a first-round draft pick of the Dolphins in 2021, the 18th player selected overall that year.
Injuries have robbed him of the player he could have been, but it’s not too late for him to still become that player. He is just 26.
After playing all 17 games in his first two pro seasons and collecting 15.5 sacks in those two years, the UCLA product was beset by injuries and played a combined 12 games over the next two years.
The good news is he has played all nine games for the Dolphins this season and has played 73 percent of their defensive snaps. He has three sacks, but his pressure rate has increased in the past few weeks.
"Oh, man, I'm just going to work my ass off,” he said to Clark. “I'm going to come in be a humble worker, earn the guys respect, earn the fans respect. Just come in and do everything I can to support the team. Want to be able to fly around and make plays, yeah, literally fly around.”
Phillips shouldn’t take too long to get acclimated to the Eagles defensive scheme since defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was Phillips’ DC for a year in Miami.
“Yeah, I love Vic as a person and as a coach,” said Phillips. “I had some good success with him. Excited to get back into his system and play with other guys on defense too.”
He had 6.5 sacks in the eight games he played under Fangio before tearing an Achilles.
"We're going to miss him tremendously,” said Fangio when Phillips got hurt that season.
Sources said that the Eagles made inquiries about trading for Phillips during the summer, but the Dolphins thought they had a chance to contend in the AFC East. They are 2-7, however, and appear headed for a rebuild, recently firing general manager Chris Grier after a run that lasted for nearly 10 years.
The Eagles gave up their own third-round pick – not the one they got from the Jets when they traded Haason Reddick – to land Phillips.
Will the Eagles try to keep him in the offseason with a new contract or let him walk as a free agent and recoup a compensatory pick? That’s a question for another day, however. Right now, it’s about seeing what kind of impact Phillips can have and how quickly he can get on the field.
Lions Trade Proposal Would Land Former First-Round Offensive Lineman
Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox named Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions a potential suitor for Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen.
The Detroit Lions have put together one of the league’s best offensive lines, a unit that serves as the foundation for the versatile running game and dangerous air attack.
Though the line is a major area of strength, one analyst suggests that the team get even stronger by adding a former first-round offensive tackle. SI.com’s Connor Orr believes the Lions could find a willing partner in the New Orleans Saints, who appear headed for a rebuild and would be eager to add draft assets.
Proposal Sends Trevor Penning for Day 3 Draft Pick
Orr suggested the Lions could land offensive tackle Trevor Penning for a 2026 fourth-round pick, giving the team a one-year rental who can add trusted depth to make up for a recent injury.
“Trevor Penning did not have his fifth-year option picked up by the Saints,” Orr noted. “The former first-round pick has guard/tackle flexibility and could help the Lions ease the burden of a banged-up Taylor Decker and continue the team’s push to replenish the lifeblood of their team.”
Orr added that Penning showed promise in his rookie season, but the Saints have struggled to put together a competent offense and his game has suffered as a result. New Orleans could ultimately be willing to part with Penning in exchange for draft picks that can fuel their expected rebuild.
“The Saints are going to push for as much draft equity as possible as they reshape a roster under Kellen Moore, who spent a first-round pick on a tackle, Kelvin Banks Jr., in this past year’s draft,” Orr wrote.
Dan Campbell Happy With Lions Roster
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that the Lions have been looking around for help in their edge-rushing group and secondary ahead of next week’s trade deadline, but it’s not clear how aggressive the team plans to be in finding help.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said this week that he doesn’t expect any moves, though general manager Brad Holmes is always on the lookout for potential help.
“I don’t (expect to be active). But that doesn’t mean we won’t,” Campbell said, via MLive.com. “I mean, he’s (Holmes) brought up a couple of things already. But I’m not — I’m so focused on the here and now and the roster we have in place, getting these guys ready to go.
“I love where we’re at. I think the roster is healthy, I think it’s in a good position, I think we have depth. But like I say, he’s always looking to improve the roster. That’s one of his jobs, and he does a hell of a job at it.”
The Lions suffered a series of injuries to their secondary, but found strong performances with reserves. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said the team’s strong depth means they don’t have to reach to make any trades.
“But I don’t see a need or necessity to go and reach for anything or anyone,” Sheppard told reporters this week. “I think that’s very disrespectful to talk about that with the guys that we have, and I feel like the respect that they’ve garnered by the work they’ve put in through seven weeks.”
